The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for local selective detection of polar structures in microscopic object areas and for local selective generation of polar structures with defined, stable alignment in microscopic areas of suitable objects.
It is known that both biological and crystalline or amorphous objects can have structures which are responsible for piezo-electric or magnetostrictive reactions of the objects. The basis for these effects is the existence of polar structures such as, in particular, electric or magnetic dipoles. In the biological field, for example, a cell membrane structure displays piezo-electric behavior. Certain plastic films can be excited into piezo-electric oscillations because of their ordered polymer structure. Magnetostrictive properties are predominantly utilized in systems generating ultrasonics (modulators). A purely magnetic alignment forms the basis of many data storage systems. In scientific research and, particularly, in the technology of data storage, a requirement exists to detect and, if possible, also to influence the existence and the distribution of the electric and magnetic dipoles in ever smaller object areas.